End of Trimester One Writing Recap

This trimester the fourth and fifth grade students have done a great job settling into the structures of writing workshop. Students have created expectations and rules for a successful writer's workshop and have worked very hard to maintain this necessary structure! This type of writing structure consists of a minilesson, ample writing time, and time for peer and teacher conferencing and editing.

For the first trimester students focused on the poetry genre. Students determined subject matters that had meaning for them, learned how to focus on the most important ideas, and how to use the most specific, powerful language to get their ideas across. We also discussed the use of figurative language, focusing specifically on similes and metaphors. We closely read and analyzed many pieces of poetry written by various authors and determined how their words and use of figurative language created mood, sensory reactions, and showed insight into the lives, thoughts, feelings and personality of the poet. Students also discussed how the poets words impacted them as readers. By the end of the trimester students produced many of their own poetic writing pieces!